A wide range of cursor control and pointing device systems for laptop computers are in common use today. Standard examples include trackballs, touchpads, touchscreens, and pointing sticks, each of which have evolved since their initial introduction. For example, the CLICKPAD pointing device sold by Synaptics, Inc. operates like a touchpad, but without the need for separate physical buttons to perform certain gestures, such as left- or right-mouse clicks. Instead, CLICKPAD devices contain internal switches beneath the touchpad surface for performing button click functions, while providing the user a similar feel to pressing a physical button. SYNAPTICS and CLICKPAD are common law or registered trademarks of Synaptics, Inc.
Another example is the UltraNav® device available on the ThinkPad® series of personal computers sold by Lenovo (US) Inc. of Morrisville, N.C. The UltraNav® device consists of TrackPoint® and touchpad devices, each of which is in itself a pointing device. The TrackPoint® device consists of a pointing stick on the keyboard and three click buttons below the keyboard and above the touch pad. The pointing stick and the three click buttons may collectively be referred to as a “pointing stick” device herein. The three buttons typically include a left button for left mouse-click, a right button for right mouse-click, and middle button that provides configurable functionality, which is often a scroll functionality by default. To use the TrackPoint® component, a user typically moves the cursor using the pointing stick with a finger, while selecting one of the three click buttons with the thumb. One advantage of the TrackPoint® configuration is that it allows a user to keep their hands over the keyboard area while providing cursor control and pointing device functionality. UltraNav®, TrackPoint® and ThinkPad® are trademarks of Lenovo, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.
The touchpad ordinarily consists of a flat surface area located below the keyboard that provides cursor movement or scrolling functionality. In addition, the touchpad typically consist of two separate click buttons located below the touch pad area that provide right and left mouse-click functions. With the UltraNav® device, both the TrackPoint® and the touch pad may be used together.